Road to the Champions Cup Final: CF Pachuca

MIAMI – Seven years after its previous conquest, CF Pachuca is one victory away from lifting the Concacaf Champions Cup for a sixth occasion when it hosts Columbus Crew at the Estadio Hidalgo on June 1 in Pachuca, Mexico.

Champions of the Apertura 2022 season in Liga MX, Pachuca earned a bye into the Round of 16 of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup as the Mexican club with higher aggregate table points during the 2022-23 campaign.

The Tuzos impressed right out of the gate, with zero goals conceded against MLS side Philadelphia Union. The first leg in the United States ended in a scoreless draw. The second leg went the way of the hosts as Salomon Rondon, a signing for the Clausura 2024 season, delivered the opening goal from a 7’ penalty kick en route to a hat-trick in a 6-0 win. The other goalscorers were Nelson Deossa, Oussama Idrissi, and 21-year-old Alan Bautista.

Pachuca kept its high-scoring prowess and defensive discipline in the quarterfinals against CS Herediano. In the first leg, Rondon delivered another hat-trick, Bautista added another to his, tally and 19-year-old Alexei Dominguez opened his account in a 5-0 victory in San Jose ­– Pachuca’s first win in Costa Rica. Rondon and 21-year-old Bryan Gonzalez scored in the 2-1 second-leg victory as Pachuca won 7–1 on aggregate.

The semifinals brought Club America as a test. Still, the Tuzos retained their undefeated run with a 1-1 draw at the Estadio Azteca, where defender Andres Micolta scored off a free kick to tie the game in the 40’. The team prevailed at home in the second leg as another young player, 21-year-old Emilio Rodriguez, scored the opening goal before Henry Martin and Nelson Deossa traded goals. Pachuca won 3–2 on aggregate to advance to another CCC final and its sixth in three decades.

Uruguayan head coach Guillermo Almada led the Tuzos to their seventh league title in 2022 and has the club one match away from their sixth CCC trophy.

New faces in Rondon, Deossa, and Micolta, along with rising players from the academy system, have contributed to what could go down as one of the most memorable seasons in club history.

Rondon is slated to finish the tournament as the Golden Boot winner with seven goals in his current account. The closest active player on the list is Columbus Crew forward Diego Rossi, with three goals in the campaign.

With wins in 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009–10, and 2016–17, the Tuzos look to remain undefeated in the Champions Cup Finals. They hold an impressive undefeated streak of 30 home matches in the tournament's history (27W, 3D) since participating in the 2000 edition, making them the only Mexican team that remains undefeated in its stadium.